Post navigation

This week has been particularly cold in Phoenix. I guess you could say we are experiencing the one week of winter we get each year. Lows in the 30s and highs in the 50s. That being said, it makes for good cycling weather.

I’ve been on Instagram for a while now and I had an account for my blog and then a personal account. For some strange reason, everyone just migrated over to my personal account. Most likely because my name is easier to memorize rather than the blog name. I have dropped the 11315miles Instagram account and just post every now and again on the personal one. I enjoy seeing people all around the world cycling, running or sharing all their cooking dishes. It’s easy to blow a cool 30 minutes scrolling sometimes. I try to make sure I don’t let social media control too much of my time. I do like the virtual “diary” if you will while I’m trying to complete all of these miles.

Some people can just take great photos. They’re sleeping…looks great. Eating spaghetti…looks great. Awww, just came out of the porto potty…looks marvelous. Me? Well, I usually look like I’ve just plowed the back 40. Great. Maybe one out of every thousand photos, there might be a keeper.

I love to see the “action” selfies. Sometimes they’re phenomenal. I even asked a gal one time how she took these cool action shots. Did she have someone follow her around? Some were taken at 6am! Some people are just media geniuses. I know there are all sorts of things you can do, such as time delay, using your apple watch, etc. But, I haven’t mastered the art of the action selfie. You know the cool photo where I’m riding…there’s an awesome background (not someone photo-bombing) and I have this concentrated far-off look like I’m contemplating the price of rice in China. You know the one. Kinda like this:

I was out for a ride and thought…hey…wouldn’t it be cool to take a selfie…said no one ever! Believe me, I’m not a big selfie person, but a couple of “proof of cycle” photos never hurts the mileage cause. This was my awesome action selfie. I was on mile 9 in a rural neighborhood and thought this is a pretty place. Do you like how I got in the background? Don’t I look like I’m concentrating hard? Whatever Baby! This is how I roll!

Was happy with my mileage this week, because I slightly edged out last week. I would have done more, but I had a chemical facial peel (another story) and it stung a bit. Not good to be out in the sun and sweating for a long time. I put 30.65 on the books this week. Looking pretty good for the month. I have 2973.23 remaining for this years goal and 6114.82 gratefully remaining in my journey. Sending positive vibes your way. Happy Miles to You!!

Another week down! This week felt really good. With the bulk of the coughing behind me, I felt like I was able to pull up some of that stamina I had lost the last couple of weeks. The weather here was a little wonky as it rained for about two days!! One day pretty heavy all day long so I opted for the gym. Do you ride in the rain? If so, what gear do you use? I have ridden in a slight sprinkling, but not a full on rain. I imagine it’s a lot like running you just need the right gear.

Continued on with strength training this week. I go to the gym at least three times a week and work arms, legs and back adding in core exercises. Cardio is always good, but you have to do strength training as well. The stronger your core the less injury you’re going to have and let’s face it, that’s a good thing. It keeps us doing our activity longer.

If you’re having trouble getting to a gym, no worries. With a little bit of research you can create a program at home that will fit your schedule. You just have to have that discipline and drive. I remember those days of being a stay at home Mom and then I became the working Mom, it’s hard to set some time aside for yourself. But take it from someone who’s been there, your health and well-being is important. You want to be around for your family and for yourself. There is so much information out there you can develop a plan and you don’t need all the fancy machines or weights. You would be surprised the many safe exercises you can do right at home, no equipment needed. It also doesn’t need to be a super long workout. I remember when stationed in Japan, as a gift to myself for my 35th birthday I bought a few sessions with a gal who was a personal trainer. She developed a plan for me that was about 35 minutes. The key was consistency. You have to follow through. You have to show up! I did and I saw great results. Just 35 minutes a day.

I also make daily plans. Yeah, you knew there must have been something else right? I type my agenda every night for the next day. I include everything to include my workout. Once you get the shell of that down the way you want, it only takes a few minutes to update. You can even make it motivational with a quote a week at the top. Sounds, funny but sometimes when you read positivity it will stay with you throughout the day. Write down your goals and make them happen. No goal is too small. Sometimes we need to take baby steps to get to our desired location. If I can do it, so can you.

I was totally on the bike this week! Absolutely loved every minute. For the most part the rides were really good. My pace kept climbing with each ride. The only downside, is it appears we have hit garage sale season in the valley and this means crazy driving, short stops and very short tempers.

After a slight wardrobe malfunction of my jersey (zipper broke) I was able to get on the road fairly early, or at least shortly after sunrise. Garage salers where out in full force. I had a couple of close calls by people who stopped short because hey…can’t miss that 25¢ find! The douche bag alert was at moderate to severe. The jeep who decided they really didn’t want to adhere to the stop sign and give me the right of way, even though I was already in the street..I thank you. Yeah….gotta love those types of people. So the question is this, when driving do you offer the right of way to cyclists or runners? I always do. I think it’s just common courtesy. I also do it for safety reasons. It’s just safer to let the runner or cyclist pass.

My long ride was 12.57 for a weeks total of 29.76 road miles 3 more than last week. Chipping away and getting closer to the halfway mark! I have 6145.47 miles remaining in my journey. That always makes me feel like a sentimental lady.

I hope this post finds you surrounded by positivity! Feel that fire!! Happy Miles to You!!

As with most things in life you have to master loving and respecting yourself first before you can master it in others. I have fond memories of watching the I Love Lucy Show with my Nana. She was so funny and always had some ‘splainin’ to do. If you’ve never seen her comedy I would suggest giving it a try. It wasn’t until years later that I saw older pictures of her that I realized how absolutely beautiful she was apart from being just funny. I love the look of women from this era. So classy.

Who was she: Lucille Désirée Ball Morton was an American actress, comedian, model, film-studio executive, and producer. She was best known as the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, and Here’s Lucy. Wikipedia.

She was born August 6, 1911 and died April 26, 1989. Happy Miles to You!!

Rate this:

Share this:

Like this:

Hello. Remember me? I just love it when you are on a roll. Nothing can stop you, then something knocks you off that sweet high horse you’ve been riding. I had finished the WTF Half Marathon and was shopping for new races, admiring my bike and planning. Then I started to feel a little tickle in the back of my throat. No worries. Allergies are going to be bad this year I can already tell. Dragging a bit, then whoa…what just hit me?

Everyone who isn’t time traveling or living in a cave knows that the flu is hitting people hard this year. Especially children which is just terrible. Well, I came down with something. I believe it was a combination of allergies that I incurred after my last race and some sort of flu. It was strange because I didn’t have any fever but a full on bronchial smack down. I mean this thing laid me out and made breathing very difficult. I think I was on the couch watching TV for about three days. One of the many benefits I have experienced from running is I rarely get sick. So, when and if I do get it, I gets it good.

I had taken the bike out on 31 Jan for about 3 miles to test the wheels after I had changed the tubes myself. I’m happy to report that both wheels did stay on and no injuries were had. But after three days on the couch I was bored and decided to venture out on the bike again. I had a lot of energy, but was literally hacking on my return ride. Have you ever been behind the wheel driving and when you get to a destination you didn’t pay attention to anything on the way there, just sort of zoned out driving? That would explain how I felt riding. I was able to get in about six miles but the last three were a hacked out mind numbing experience.

I let myself recover a day, realizing that maybe I needed a little more time to heal those lungs. After another day, again needing to get out and oh I don’t know buy some food maybe, I decided to go to Costco. I hadn’t been in a while, but nothing says freedom like a pallet of toilet paper and a 100 lbs bag of cat food.

I have a love-hate relationship with Costco. One being the hyper-commercialism and oooh I need a year supply of Oral B electric toothbrush tips!!!! Squirrel!!! So there I was, deep in the bowels of the Costco, slightly hacking, and forgetting what was the reason I was there in the first place. I am a creature of habit sometimes and I like to start at one point in the store (TVs) and do the rounds. Knowing very well I don’t require a TV the size of a house I still stare at the quality and make note of the really good price. I digress. Oh yes, I remember I needed trash bags. I then start to proceed through the liquor section, uh huh, uh huh…liking that..good price…into the food section. Wow that’s a lot of cheese…hmmm…okay trash bags. In the food section every isle had a nice person offering samples. You can get juice, chips or chicken just to name a few. Now I’m going to tell you something very important. A few years back I took a food sanitation course. If you ever want to change your opinion of whether you want a free sample or about the restaurant industry in general, take a food sanitation class. You will think twice about taking the “free” sample or where you eat, I guarantee. Knowing this, I have been weak on certain occasions and have dabbled with the dangerous with food.

In order to get to the trash bags I had to go through the food section. My throat was starting to get itchy and I knew I needed to get what I came for and leave before I had a melt down. I’m almost to the bags and there on the end of one isle was this sweet little old woman. Taquito, she asks?

Media Medusa

Me: suuurrrreeeee….

Awesome gifs

Definition: A taquito, tacos dorados, rolled taco, or flauta is a Mexican food dish that typically consists of a small rolled-up tortilla that contains filling, including beef, cheese or chicken. The filled tortilla is then crisp-fried.

Now, there are certain moments your body is acting faster than the brain. This was one of those moments. Why you ask? Well it would be the last two words in the taquito definition – crisp-fried. Crispy anything and a very sensitive scratchy throat leads to uncontrollable coughing….in Costco. But there I was, popping that overly salted, fried, greasy radiated meat product into my mouth, smiling and knowing that in 10, 9, … 7…3, 2 …. I slowly listened to the nice lady as she said, “here’s a coupon honey, they’re in the freezer right around the corner” and as I turned the corner hoping to find solace with the frozen vegetables….1….the uncontrollable hacking began.

At first it was just a light inner cough, as my shoulders tried to quell the violent eruption that was about to take place in the frozen foods section of Costco. I tried to control it as the last bit of the taquito made its way slowly down my throat, scraping and leaving bits of preservatives in an already raw throat. My lungs said, oh no girlfriend, this is going to be a good one. Tears were starting to well up in my eyes as I turned to stare at the frozen broccoli thinking, I rather eat fresh then frozen. Now I’m starting to get loud. It’s embarrassing, but luckily in true Costco form, everyone is just ignoring me. I slowly make it down to the yogurt, hacking while trying to stand straight, and stop to see the Chobani yogurt selection. A gallon tub of Chobani, ya’ll. Yeah, it’s good but I’m just not feeling it today….hacking and trying not cause a scene I somehow end up in the vitamin section. It’s a good sign because I’m almost to the exit….oh damn what did I come here for…trash bags. Screw it!!

Even with all the hacking I was able to finish the month of January with 81.54 miles and my recap for this round was 29.41 to add to the spreadsheet! I can’t wait to breathe in my remaining 6175.23 miles. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday and breathing easy. Happy Miles to You!!

“Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis is a licensed psychologist, ordained minister, and sacred artist who has worked nationally and globally to provide relief and empowerment to marginalized persons. Dr. Thema, an associate professor at Pepperdine University, is a past president of the Society for the Psychology of Women. Her contributions to psychological research, policy, and practice have been honored by national and regional psychological associations.” ~ http://www.drthema.com/about/

I love strong, smart women. It doesn’t matter if others think you can’t do it, it only matters if you think you can. You can see here whole page here, http://www.drthema.com/.

Happy Miles to You!!

Rate this:

Share this:

Like this:

The first word is always the hardest to write. Hmmm, ok let’s go for the utterly mundane and say I have completed my third half marathon. I would have tried to bang this post out yesterday, but I was tired and hungry. Oh so very hungry. Where to begin…”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….” Oh very sorry, wrong story.

On Sunday I completed the Winter Trail Frosty Trail Half Marathon that took place in Papago Park in Tempe, Arizona. I get a lot of junk email for different types of races. I searched for races that take place in January in Arizona and the WTF came up. I thought it would be cool to do one closer to home. This race is hosted by 131 Event Productions, who sponsor similar races across the country. I guess it would be safe to say they are a franchise. I signed up originally because I wanted to do another trail race. I have done a few trails before with the last one, the Grand Canyon Half, in 2016. So, I was ready to try another trail run.

About a couple of weeks before the race an update was sent out that mentioned something about insurance and injury and that the run wouldn’t take place through the park but around the lake area closer to the city. I was surprised and a little put out but it was a chance to get some miles in and to focus on PRing my fastest half time.

I had been good with hydrating and eating the whole week. Focusing on good energy foods. The morning of I did have this:

No, it’s not just ordinary toast…it’s cinnamon sugar toast. I had it growing up as a kid and had been craving it so I made it for part of my breakfast. The other part was a Kashi cereal that tastes like Captain Crunch™. Don’t judge. Packed about two gels for every two miles and headed out the door around 7:15.

Arrive at the venue and begin to drive to the parking lot only to see cars driving back. A sure sign that there are no more parking spaces. I was beginning to realize that maybeI should have left a little earlier. I found myself parking in a park down the road with others about a mile from the start. Park the car and realize that I need to step up my game. In other words, girlfren you need to start wogging to the start line. I needed to get there because I wanted to get one last bathroom break in before the race starts. Get to the start line and look for portos. What!!??!! Looking….looking…oh there…they…are…. WTFrack! There were only six portos and the line was out the…well you know. I mean come on!!! Six? Heck, women alone need six! Now we have to share them? So, there I stood and I’ll tell you I wasn’t happy. If I someone shooting the shyster I know my ice eyes were beaming through the back of their heads. STOP TALKING….”five minutes till race start” the announcer bellows. No way was I going to get this done. I made the call to get out of the line and go back to the start. Once the race began I ran to the porto and waited for six minutes, then I started my race. Yeah. Awesome.

The race

The race was a combination of a quarter and half marathon. The half marathoners (me) got to do the course…you guessed it, twice. As my readers well know, there is nothing I hate more than a lapped run. It’s boring. Did I say it’s boring? But sometimes you just have to deal. I start running down a small path and the next thing I know it’s starts to go through the park! A real trail run. Uh, hmmm what about the insurance blah, blah, death, blah blah…??? Yes, ladies and gentleman, we have ourselves a real trail run. I was happy, but a bit shocked. I sure as heck wouldn’t have worn my Hokas ya’ll! But there I was hopping over rock and sand. The majority of the trail was single person wide with a few concrete cross overs and some flat areas. You know what that means right? Here’s a hint:

Can you guess? It was a caterpillar run. Meaning, you’re only going as fast as the person in front of you. A lot of stop and starting. Awesome! One thing I will say, the difficulty was higher than the Grand Canyon Half. You had to be careful where you stepped and it was constantly up and down. I was very careful on descending because I didn’t want to hurt my knee again. That’s what got me in trouble last time. It was a tough course.

Here is a picture I took on one of the few places that was flatter. Mind you I was already halfway up the hill.

Support

This is where things get a little iffy and I really want to say something about this because I have noticed this happening in MANY events I’ve taken part over the years. For the first part there was heavy support. The trail was marked okay, not great. They marked it with bright green tape (the route to follow) and orange tape (where not to go). There were volunteer guides to set you on the right path at some of the more tricky parts. After the first round, i.e. the quarter marathoners completed their race, the volunteers magically disappeared. Now you would think, well you ran it once surely you would know where to go. Not so. Runners were getting tired and paying attention to foot strike. I saw a lot of people get turned around at some of the more confusing points, myself included. Then the ultimate no no, they took away some of the water points. Look, I didn’t bring my water belt. I train with one, but I look forward to running a race without one, especially if there is water support. Right or wrong, we can discuss that in the comments section. A lot of people had their belts or hydration packs. Maybe I should have brought mine. The water points were about every two miles for the first part of the race, but seemed to disappear the second half. This is what I find at a lot of these events. You have the fast people who will finish the race in one hour, but then the other 90% don’t. The other 90% paid for this experience too and therefore, the event managers need to follow through and support until the last man or woman crosses the finish line. Some of these races are expensive. This one wasn’t too bad, but still the support needs to be the same for all. Unless there are some stipulations in the event rules that state support cuts off after a certain time, support the runners. I was really counting on one of the water points only to find it packed up and gone. Not cool. I will be writing 131 productions.

The finish

The finish was great and well supported. They had lots of food and water to refuel and the bling wasn’t too bad either. The medal was crazy big and a little heavy! I wonder sometimes if you can get addicted to the bling. My body was a little sore, but overall this was a pain free race!

I was pleased with my performance. I was going to say I didn’t PR but I guess I did because this was my second trail half. I ran 3 hours and some change for the Grand Canyon and I finished this run at 2:59. Granted the elevation differences are not the same with two very different environments. I came in 9th in my age group for this run. Don’t get excited, there were eleven in my age group.

After the run I was really hungry even after eating cake and a banana at the finish, so I treated myself to Culvers. I hadn’t been there in a while and needed something good!

And here I thought they did the pickle like that especially for me….no, it’s everyone.

I completed 27.45 miles this week bringing me to 5110.36 miles completed in my journey with 6204.64 gratefully remaining. I hope this post finds you surrounded by the people you love. Happy Miles to You!!

Once again I felt like I was on the moon. I got in the car to go home and this was on the radio….

Happy Monday!!! I hope everyone is having a great Monday and if you’re a non-essential government worker you get to go back to work tomorrow!

Came across this quote and thought I would stir your brain.

Just in case you don’t know, this quote was penned by Harley~Davidson. Well that is really two people: William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson. “In 1903 William S. Harley, Davidson, and Davidson’s two brothers formed the Harley-Davidson Motor Company”, https://www.biography.com/people/william-s-harley-20903181. I don’t think they let anybody hold their pens. Much less choose the color.

Arthur Davidson

Plus

William S. Harley

Equals

Harley Stock Photo

Two American originals, for sure. Hold your pen close and create YOUR story. Happy Miles to You!!

This blog is all about roaming the Bicol Region, Philippines wisely on a budget. We'll talk about what Bicol has to offer when it comes to great hotel deals, good food and where to go on your vacation. So, I hope this blog site will be helpful to those of you on the look out for great deals while you have fun in Bicol. After all, the wisest of us believe that the concept of toil is just a myth, and life should be a never-ending vacation.